A Love Made New by Kathleen Fuller revolves around the lives of three sisters — one sister more than the others. The lives of Sadie, Abigail, and Joanna turned upside down when their parents die in a tragic accident. However, as they say, time heals everything, their lives begin falling back on track. Soon, Sadie and Joanna get married to the love of their lives, Aden and Andrew, respectively. Abigail, on the other hand, does not seem to be doing so well. Since the sad demise of her parents, she has found food as her constant companion, which, according to her, has started showing on her body. Her belief that she has become fat gets a stamp of approval when her boyfriend breaks up with her. Her low self-esteem clouds her judgment and she refuses to see the love in the eyes of a very handsome man, Asa, who is willing to do just about anything to have her in his life. Asa does not see her as a chubby girl; in his eyes, she is the most beautiful girl — both inside and outside. But, somehow, Abigail misunderstands his admiration as pity and misinterprets everything he says or does to think that he is mocking her eating habits and body size.
Kathleen Fuller has a very engaging manner of telling stories and introducing characters. The central character is, no doubt, Abigail; nevertheless, many other characters are introduced and their stories are equally fascinating. Both, Andrew and Aden, are dealing with the sudden abandonment of their fathers. The circumstances in which they abandoned their families are very different, but their ways of dealing with the pain is quite similar. The patience of Naomi, Andrew’s mother, is moving — to say the least. But it is nothing compared to the immense faith that Aden’s mother, Rhoda, exhibits throughout the read. The reason I say this is because of the fact that Naomi’s husband is still in touch with her trough letters; whereas, Rhoda’s husband has been completely out of touch since his departure. Yet she waits for him and prays for his return. Aden’s brother, Sol, is carrying a baggage from his past that he refuses to leave behind. Although Irene, Andrew’s sister, is everything that he would want in a life partner, he does not know if he can discard the possibility that he would end up hurting her again. Like I said, there are many fascinating stories around the central plot involving Abigail and Asa.
One thing that I admire the most about Kathleen Fuller’s books is how relatable and colorful her characters are. Their emotions feel real and their dialogues are really engaging. There is not one character that has no role in the plot. The author knows exactly what she wants from which character. I could predict the end of the book, but that did not stop me from enjoying the journey; like they say, “It’s the journey, not the destination that matters.” I found Abigail the most interesting character. Her low self-esteem kept her from really knowing herself. She focused more on what others think of her than what she thought of herself. Every time, someone saw her eating, she assumed they were judging her and thinking that she was disgusting. Isn’t this how our brain sometimes function? We notice someone observing us, we immediately fill our heads with all sorts of self-doubting thoughts.
“Faith can move mountains” is another idea that resonates with the book. Troubled characters of A Love Made New found warmth in embracing faith. Whenever in doubt, they left the matter in the hands of God. It’s hard to imagine this much devotion to God; however, reading about it, I felt this could be one way of dealing with the negativity of this era. The author inspired me to the point that I realized that I need to make some changes in my life.
I would recommend A Love Made New by Kathleen Fuller to the readers who like romantic books filled with many stories.
P.S. I have received a copy of this book from BookLookBloggers.com in exchange for an honest review.
